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The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii and discussed the heinous budget introduced by the Republicans’ president.

(Sen. Schatz Tackles Trump Budget Cuts In Weekly Address)

It’s true: Republicans really are coming after your Medicare and your Medicaid. This isn’t a campaign slogan or an overstatement. It’s right there in the budget that the president released this week. It’s got $1.5 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, and $845 billion in cuts to Medicare … $25 billion from Social Security.[…]

So this budget makes very clear the difference between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans are all about tax cuts and paying for it by cutting health care. And Democrats want to expand health care coverage, invest in students, and protect the air we breathe and the water that we drink.

The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Rep. Andy Kim from New Jersey speaking about H.R.1 – the For The People Act – an historic reform package to restore the promise of our nation’s democracy and return the power to the people.

(Congressman Andy Kim of New Jersey delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. In this week’s address, the Congressman highlighted the passage of H.R.1, the For The People Act, an historic reform package to restore the promise of our nation’s democracy, end the culture of corruption in Washington, and reduce the role of money in politics to return the power back to the American people.)

“Our nation needs a government of service.

“It was this sense of service that founded our nation and built the extraordinary institutions of democracy that we have been entrusted to protect. That is the oath that we swore.

“But as we look at the stagnation and gridlock, we must be honest with ourselves that these institutions have been weakened. That we do not have the quality of public service that the American people deserve.

“The tide of dark money and special interests eroded our pillars and caused many in this country, my neighbors included, to feel that our government is no longer focused on serving the people. […]

“A government for the people requires a government of the people.

“We must help more Americans to participate in their democracy. We need to work to remove barriers to voting, encourage more Americans to step up and run for office, urge them to vote and to engage with their elected representatives.

“We need to stop gerrymandering from diluting the voice of the people, to make our system fairer and more just.

“We need a government the understands that the core unit of our democracy is the citizen, not the dollar sign.

This past week, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, made a strong closing statement following a hearing into the blatant criminality of Donald J. Trump – as a businessman, as a candidate, as the leader of the Republican Party, and as the Republicans’ president.

(From MSNBC: In an emotional statement addressing Michael Cohen and the chamber, Rep. Elijah Cummings offers closing thoughts after about eight hours of questions and testimony.)

The greatest gift that [we] can give to our children, is making sure we give them a democracy that is intact. A democracy better than the one we came upon. And I’m hoping that, the things you said today will help us again to get back there. […]

I’m hoping that all of us can get back to this democracy that we want, and that we should be passing on our children so they can do better than what we did.[…]

When we’re dancing with the angels, the question we’ll be asked: In 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact? Did we stand on the sidelines and say nothing?

The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Congresswoman Lucy McBath from Georgia and explains the work she and House Democrats are doing to pass commonsense gun safety legislation.

(Congresswoman Lucy McBath of Georgia shared her family’s tragic story of gun violence and explained the work she and House Democrats are doing to pass commonsense gun safety legislation.)

“This coming week, H.R.8 the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 will come to Floor of the House for a vote. This historic, bipartisan gun violence prevention legislation will ensure background checks for all gun sales, including unlicensed gun dealers.

“The overwhelming, bipartisan support for universal background checks symbolizes the power of advocacy and the incredible power of the survivors, family members and students who have shared their stories as they advocate for commonsense gun safety solutions and demand that we act to address gun violence.

“House Democrats are taking action to make sure our communities and our nation are safer.

“The President’s unlawful declaration over a crisis that does not exist does great violence to our Constitution and makes America less safe, stealing from urgently needed defense funds for the security of our military and our nation. This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed President, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process.

“The President’s actions clearly violate the Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, which our Founders enshrined in the Constitution. The Congress will defend our constitutional authorities in the Congress, in the Courts, and in the public, using every remedy available.

“This issue transcends partisan politics and goes to the core of the Founders’ conception for America, which commands Congress to limit an overreaching executive. The President’s emergency declaration, if unchecked, would fundamentally alter the balance of powers, inconsistent with our Founders’ vision.

“We call upon our Republican colleagues to join us to defend the Constitution. Just as both parties honored our oath to protect the American people by passing the conference committee bill, the Congress on a bipartisan basis must honor the Constitution by defending our system of checks and balances.

“The President is not above the law. The Congress cannot let the President shred the Constitution.”

The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Rep. Barbara Lee of California speaking about Black History Month and the work being done on the For The People agenda.

(Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California, co-chair of the Steering and Policy Committee, delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. In this week’s address, Congresswoman Lee marked Black History Month and highlighted Democrats’ For The People agenda.)

“James Baldwin used to say: ‘I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.’ Leaving the House Chambers on Tuesday after the State of the Union, these words echoed in my head.

“We cannot believe what [the Republican’s president] says, because we see what he has done.

“So let me be clear: we will stand up for the truth. We have seen what he has done. And we will stand up for the American people – and for justice, for righteousness, and for truth. […]

“Our agenda was written For the People, for all the people.

“It is an agenda built on radical truth, on the understanding that every American will benefit from fairer elections, lower health care costs, and higher wages. […]

“When African American women die in childbirth at nearly four times the rate of white mothers – there is more work to be done.

“When every day, across the nation, our neighbors, classmates, our loved ones are gunned down in senseless acts of violence – there is more work to be done.

“When children are once again snatched from their mothers’ arms as they come to our country – there is more work to be done.

“Each Black History Month, Americans celebrate the proud heritage and innumerable contributions that African Americans have made to our nation. We honor the generations of African Americans who have enriched our society, pay tribute to the tireless activists who have fought to fulfill the promise of America, and recognize the new generation of leaders who have transformed the Congress and our country with their vision and values.

“Yet today, barriers to social and economic justice and access to equal opportunity continue to undermine the success and prosperity of communities of color. In the face of these persistent obstacles, the new Democratic Majority is working to build a future of progress and possibility for all Americans. We are acting to advance fair elections and combat the shameful, brazen efforts to erect barriers to the ballot box for communities of color. We are standing up against the rhetoric of hate and violence that is inflicting pain, heartbreak and division in our communities, and insisting on the truth that Black Lives Matter. And we are pushing forward a bold, ambitious agenda For The People to make good on the promise of the American Dream for everyone by lowering the cost of health care and prescription drugs, raising wages by rebuilding America with green, modern infrastructure, and strengthening our democracy by ensuring that our government works for the public interest, not the special interests.

“This Black History Month, we recommit to opening up opportunity and advancing equality for all Americans. To do so, we take strength and inspiration from the legacy of those who came before us and the courage of our heroes, like Congressman John Lewis, who reminds us that ‘there are still forces in America that want to divide us…But we’ve made too much progress to stop or to pull back. We must go forward.’ Guided by countless leaders, advocates and patriotic Americans we will keep moving toward a future of progress and justice for all.”

No Democratic Party Weekly Address was available at publication time.
(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)

The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Congressman Ted Lieu of California. He discussed the escalating safety and economic threat caused by the Republican Party’s senseless government shutdown.

Rep. Lieu:

“It’s pretty simple how we got here. In fact, it’s all captured on videotape. Last month, Trump told the American people, quote, ‘I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down.’ End quote.

“No President of the United States should ever be proud of shutting down our government. But Trump carried out his threat to shut down government. And he was enabled by Republicans in the House and the Senate.

“This shutdown started during a time of unified Republican control of the federal government: the White House, the Senate, and the House. Democrats inherited this shutdown from Republicans.”[…]

“Now, how do we stop Trump and the Republicans from continuing to inflict harm on the American people? The Democratic position has been straightforward, consistent, and reasonable: Re-open government. Negotiate a deal.

“Democrats will never allow Trump and the Republicans to use the harm of a government shutdown as a negotiating tactic. Because if we do, then Trump will do this any time he has a policy disagreement with Congress. […]

“The truth is, the shutdown is not about protecting our border, it’s about Trump’s failed campaign promise. He promised Mexico will pay for his wall. He has been unable to get Mexico to pay for his wall, so he decided to take the mantle and proudly shut down our government. That is wrong, and the American people know it.

The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Senator Amy Klobuchar asking (in Minnesota Nice!) for the Republicans to come back to the bargaining table and stop holding the hard-working people of America hostage.

(As the longest federal government shutdown in American history continues, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) delivers this week’s Weekly Democratic Address. In the address, Klobuchar describes the harm that the nearly month-long shutdown has been inflicting on Americans across the country, and calls on Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to take up bipartisan House-passed legislation, which Senate Republicans previously have supported, that would reopen the government.)

“This weekend, we are on the verge of what soon will be a month-long government shutdown, and it’s the longest and most senseless shutdown in American history. That’s nearly a month of hundreds of thousands of workers not getting paid. That’s nearly a month of everything from air safety to medical advancement being undermined. Nearly a month of unnecessary anxiety and unwarranted chaos.

“This past week, the President declared he’ll “never back down” from his decision to shut down the government until he gets what he wants.

“We ask the President to come back to the table, and to stop holding the hard-working people of America hostage by requiring them to pay ransom to reopen their government. Especially after we already passed bills to reopen the government and to help secure our borders.[…]

“In this week of Martin Luther King’s birthday, we remember the words of Dr. King: ‘the time is always right to do what is right.’”

“Now is the time to do what is right Mr. President. End this shutdown and put hard-working Americans back to work.

The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Congressman Scott Peters of San Diego discussing the real crises caused by Trump’s demand for an “impossible wall”.

(Rep. Scott Peters discusses Democrats’ support for smart, effective border security solutions and calls on President Trump and Senator McConnell to re-open government now.)

“The one truth the President did state is that there is a crisis at the border.

“There is a humanitarian crisis created by him.

“It’s a crisis when the President threatens to shut down the nation’s legal immigration and asylum process over a border wall that is really just a campaign gimmick.

“It a crisis when the President spends 72 million of your tax dollars to send our military to the border to confront a threat that didn’t exist, like he did in November, as a political stunt to rally the base.

“It’s a crisis when this Administration is allowing women and children – babies – to be dumped on American streets in the middle of the night with nothing more than the clothes on their back, without food, money, health screenings, or plans to get them to their destinations.

“And there is a crisis, when a government shutdown means that 800,000 federal workers are denied a paycheck this week, and now can’t pay their mortgage or rent, student loans, or medical expenses, hurting their credit rating because our President won’t budge on his impossible wall.

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